How to divide a Phormium?

Phormium or New Zealand flax is a beautiful evergreen perennial that forms clumps of linear, erect leaves, with a very graphic, exotic look! Leaves can be plain or variegated, and are declinate into a wide range of colours: green, orange, bronze, purple, cream, yellow, copper… They often display beautiful colour nuances in the form of longitudinal striate markings. Phormium likes sun and requires little maintenance once established. Ideal for structuring a border, it brings volume and verticality. It suits rock gardens, seaside gardens, exotic or graphic gardens, and can also be grown in a large pot on a terrace. Over time Phormium produces offshoots around the original young plant: to multiply it, simply separate these offshoots from the mother plant and replant them in pots or elsewhere in the garden. Discover all our tips for dividing it and thus obtaining new young plants!

For more on its cultivation, do not hesitate to consult our full sheet "Phormium, New Zealand flax: planting, pruning, maintenance"

When to divide Phormium?

Best time to divide Phormium is early spring, around April, but it can also be done in autumn.

How to divide a Phormium?

Division allows reducing size of an overgrown Phormium while producing new young plants.

If your young plant is large and forms a wide clump of leaves, you can start by tying them together with string so they do not get in the way.
Locate peripheral offshoots by looking where the different clumps of leaves are inserted, then separate them from the mother plant using a spade.
If your Phormium isn't too large, you can also dig up the whole young plant, digging wide and deep enough not to damage the roots. If it's in a pot, gently remove the rootball. Remove any excess soil, then separate the offshoots, ensuring each has a tuft of leaves and sufficient roots.

Then cut the leaves back to about 15 centimetres in height. This helps limit water loss through transpiration by balancing volume of foliage and roots, and thus prevents the plants from drying out.
Also take the opportunity to remove any dead or damaged leaves you may see.

Replant the mother plant in ground, and the offshoots in individual pots, in a draining substrate, or in ground in a sunny spot.
Water generously.
Then continue to water regularly to ensure the plants establish well.